Gratitude – What I’m Grateful For As 2019 Comes To An End

Gratitude

We’re always told to be more grateful, to act and behave with more gratitude but often life and its busyness takes over and we forget to take stock of what’s truly important and what we are grateful for.

Today I wanted to pause and do just that. I want to look at my life, that is not an easy one by any means and focus on the things I am grateful for. I guess, today’s post is perhaps a selfish endeavour, given that 2019 has been a particularly tough year for me, I want to step aside from the constant struggle that is my life with severe chronic illness and the suffering that endures and take a moment to find and practice gratitude, perhaps it may inspire you to do the same.

Family

There is never a second off with chronic illness. No holidays, no break, no rest bite, nothing. So, it is often overwhelming for us and for me to bear. I am endlessly grateful for my family. They put up with my breakdowns far too often.

I know that I am lucky to have my family in my life. Many with chronic illness do not. Mine have stuck by me and their support for me is immeasurable.

They are my carers, my soundboard, my advocates, my everything. My nieces are my ray of sunshine, my little vitamins who make me feel better despite it all.

I have a roof over my head

Let’s face it, I’m lucky to have a roof over my head given that I cannot work due to my poor health. I am sure as heck grateful for that.

Fur friends

For the cuddles. For Freddie lying on me when my tremors begin. For the endless love from both of the fluffy, gorgeous pups, despite my lack of ability to play with them; I’m grateful for them. 

Friends who stick around

I’m not easy. I’m really, incredibly sick. I can’t just pop out or attend catch-ups and I’m regularly too sick to manage visitors. So for those few friends who still try, who still check in on me, even though they know I can be too sick to reply to a text, well I’m grateful. 

Internet friends

My wonderful Spoonie community and online friends! We may not have met in person but we ‘get it’, we understand the struggle each other face on a daily basis and we support each other, period. It’s a community filled with gratitude.

Gluten-Free mince pies

It might sound silly but after a hell of a few years with my body not tolerating ’proper food’, this is something to be thankful for. Prescription liquid and powder foods may still take up kitchen space but for some wonderful reason my body has chosen now, the festive period, to allow me to eat mince pies. 

Bloody hell am I grateful. 

Scientists

There are some incredible scientists around the world undertaking bio-medical research into M.E at present. They are publishing research papers often and striving to find a biomarker, treatment and a cure. The gratitude we, as a community, feel for them is overwhelming.

You

To you, my readers, my followers, my supporters. To everyone who supports me on my instagram pages and my blog, thank you. Thank you for your ongoing support, kindness and love.

The End Of A Year

This year has been a very difficult one for me and it’s one in a sense that I’d be happy to see the back of. However, it’s also been filled with some precious moments that I would never want to forget. It’s those moments, those memories in the darkest, most difficult of times that I try to remember, try to focus on and try to be grateful for. It’s not always easy but I believe it’s worth picking out the good from the bad, the light from the ever-encroaching darkness because well, it’s quite simply those memories that are worth focusing on.

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.

A.A. Milne

If you’ve enjoyed this post, you might like ‘Self Care And The Spoonie Life’ and ‘The End Of A Decade – Facing The Years With Chronic Illness’.

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